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povzetki ■ summaries
Enhancing Knowledge and Skills in Autism Spectrum
Disorders: Initial and Continuous Professional
Development for Early Childhood Educators in Five
European Countries
Manja Veldin, Maša Vidmar, Ilaria Farinella, Gaja Jamniker Krevh
The quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) is becoming in-
creasingly recognised as a foundation for lifelong learning and as especially
beneficial for disadvantaged children, such as those with autism spectrum
disorders (ASD). Therefore, personnel in the early years should be profe-
ssionally prepared, provided with continuing professional development
(CPD), appropriate working conditions, and given ongoing support (Laz-
zari, 2017). In this study, the CPD of preschool teachers across five EU co-
untries (Slovenia, Cyprus, Sweden, Spain, and Italy) with varying levels of
system and policy integration was examined, focusing on the knowledge
acquired in the area of special and inclusive education, specifically abo-
ut ASD, during their initial training and in CPD. A questionnaire was
employed to experts about the mainstream public and private ECEC provi-
sions in the 2019/2020 school year (the main ECEC settings, staff categori-
es, initial education, associated curricula, and CPD). Our study found that
there is a gap in the training of ECEC teachers to work with children with
ASD, as none of the selected countries explicitly mention ASD in the cur-
ricula of their initial education for core staff. The majority of content rela-
ted specifically to ASD seems to be delivered via CPD. The study, therefore,
highlights the importance of CPD for preschool teachers to gain approp-
riate knowledge and skills to work with disadvantaged children, particu-
larly in the early stages of development when early intervention is crucial.
However, CPD is not compulsory in all countries and the required mini-
mum hours of CPD per year for preschool teachers vary widely across cou-
ntries. The study emphasizes the need for consistent and high-quality tra-
ining and CPD opportunities for ECEC teachers to effectively support the
development and learning of all children, including those with ASD.
Keywords: ECEC, initial and continuous professional development,
preschool teachers, EU comparison, autism spectrum disorders
249
Enhancing Knowledge and Skills in Autism Spectrum
Disorders: Initial and Continuous Professional
Development for Early Childhood Educators in Five
European Countries
Manja Veldin, Maša Vidmar, Ilaria Farinella, Gaja Jamniker Krevh
The quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) is becoming in-
creasingly recognised as a foundation for lifelong learning and as especially
beneficial for disadvantaged children, such as those with autism spectrum
disorders (ASD). Therefore, personnel in the early years should be profe-
ssionally prepared, provided with continuing professional development
(CPD), appropriate working conditions, and given ongoing support (Laz-
zari, 2017). In this study, the CPD of preschool teachers across five EU co-
untries (Slovenia, Cyprus, Sweden, Spain, and Italy) with varying levels of
system and policy integration was examined, focusing on the knowledge
acquired in the area of special and inclusive education, specifically abo-
ut ASD, during their initial training and in CPD. A questionnaire was
employed to experts about the mainstream public and private ECEC provi-
sions in the 2019/2020 school year (the main ECEC settings, staff categori-
es, initial education, associated curricula, and CPD). Our study found that
there is a gap in the training of ECEC teachers to work with children with
ASD, as none of the selected countries explicitly mention ASD in the cur-
ricula of their initial education for core staff. The majority of content rela-
ted specifically to ASD seems to be delivered via CPD. The study, therefore,
highlights the importance of CPD for preschool teachers to gain approp-
riate knowledge and skills to work with disadvantaged children, particu-
larly in the early stages of development when early intervention is crucial.
However, CPD is not compulsory in all countries and the required mini-
mum hours of CPD per year for preschool teachers vary widely across cou-
ntries. The study emphasizes the need for consistent and high-quality tra-
ining and CPD opportunities for ECEC teachers to effectively support the
development and learning of all children, including those with ASD.
Keywords: ECEC, initial and continuous professional development,
preschool teachers, EU comparison, autism spectrum disorders
249
